Social media users can appeal over content disputes to new settlement body

By Cate McCurry, PA

An independent body which aims to resolve appeals against policy violation decisions of three of the largest social media companies is being set up in Dublin.

Appeals Centre Europe will receive disputes from people and organisations across the European Union (EU).

The body will initially decide cases relating to Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, aiming to include more social media platforms over time.

The Appeals Centre confirmed its status as a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body under Article 21 in the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).

The certification follows a successful application to Ireland’s media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán.

The Appeals Centre has been legally certified to provide an impartial, swift and cost-effective service that is independent of both companies and governments.

It will decide whether platforms’ decisions are consistent with their content policies, including any rules, principles or exceptions applied to those policies with reference to human rights.

It will operate an in-house team of experts, stating that it will apply “human review” to every case, and including expertise in specific regions, languages and policy areas.

It also seeks to bring greater accountability and transparency of social media platforms by generating data that reveals patterns that help identify systemic risks.

The Appeals Centre will be an alternative to often costly and time-consuming legal routes to redress.

The start-up funding for the Appeals Centre has been provided through a one-time grant from the Oversight Board Trust.

The Oversight Board is the authority tasked with overseeing content decisions on Meta’s platforms.

Once launched, the Appeals Centre will be funded through fees charged to social media companies for each case, whilst users who raise a dispute will only pay a nominal fee, which is refunded if the Appeals Centre’s decision is in their favour.

The former director of the Oversight Board administration, Thomas Hughes, is taking on a new role as the inaugural chief executive of the Appeals Centre Europe.

He said: “The emerging dispute settlement landscape in the European Union has enormous potential to empower people and communities by allowing them to challenge content decisions on social media platforms.

“Access to independent, expert, swift and affordable redress is core to upholding people’s rights and pursuing greater accountability and transparency of social media platforms.

“We want users to have the choice to raise a dispute to a body that is independent of governments and companies, and focused on ensuring platforms’ content policies are fairly and impartially applied.

“Through a team of experts, the Appeals Centre will offer a reliable service that reduces the burden on regulators and courts in a sustainable way and drives down the cost to users, whilst delivering independent expert decisions.”

The Appeals Centre will be located in Dublin. The body will begin receiving disputes from social media users before the end of this year.